11. Chapter 11
Eamon
Rage filled him like a burning fire. He was going to fucking kill her ex, slowly, painfully, and cruelly. He had sent a message to his twin brother, Theo, asking for backup from the family in Atlanta, GA. He needed reinforcements to keep everyone safe, and he knew Theo would help without question.
“Ok, Daphne, I need you to tell me everything. Starting with when you got this message.”
“Are you sure the room is safe, and you trust everyone in here? I’m scared.” Tears fell down her cheeks, her wobbly voice breaking his heart.
“Yes, sweet girl, I do. This room is protected and has special features that block signals. And these are my best men. They would never do anything to betray me or the oath they took.” He rubbed soothing circles on her wrist, trying to calm the panicked look on her face.
“He’s right. We are family and we take that shit seriously. No one here would ever harm a single hair on your head. We would also never turn you over to an abusive ex or allow him anywhere near you.” Eamon was thankful for his brother and hoped his words would soothe her.
“I got the message right before Kiera and I started painting. I didn’t know what to do, so I just decided to think about my next step.
I was going to run away tonight and leave and take the danger away from you all, but I am terrified of the bears and I hate hiking so getting off this mountain and to my car wasn’t a viable option.
Plus, I figured if anyone can keep us safe, it’s you guys. ”
“I am very glad you did not decide to hike this mountain in the dark, Little girl. And I am very glad you decided to trust us.”
“I just don’t know what to do. I know you are dangerous, but he is the unhinged kind of dangerous and I don’t want to get hurt. I don’t want anyone to get hurt.” Her sobs broke him and he pulled her onto his lap, rubbing her back and speaking in soft, hushed tones.
“I’m s-sorry to cry all over you. I’m just scared and I don’t want to be. I don’t want him to have that power over me anymore.”
“You are allowed to cry all over me anytime you want, Daphne. I will always be here for you.”
“You’re just saying that because you are Damian’s best friend,” she huffed at him.
“I am not. But we will have that conversation later. For now, we need to keep you both safe, which means you cannot leave the estate for any reason. Not even to go out to the barn. I texted Theo, and he is sending more men to help protect the perimeter and help us find Callum.”
“Wait…you know who my ex is? But I never told you his name! How did you know that? Have you told Damian?” She rattled her questions off so quickly he had a hard time keeping track.
“Yes, I know who your ex is. I have known for a while, and yes, Damian knows. I couldn’t keep it from him.”
“Ugh! I don’t want him to go after him! He will try to kill him and then he’ll end up in prison and Emma and Ferris will hate me forever and I’ll lose my family and…and…and…”
“Take a breath, Daphne. No one is going to prison, I promise. Damian is letting me handle this because of that very reason. We have been looking for him for very different reasons, but your situation just adds fuel to the fire.”
“What other reasons are those?”
“He is a known abuser, and he is trying to start a strip club in the next town over and he is trafficking young women and children. We want to stop him, and we will. I promise.”
“He’s an asshole and a douchebag and a dick and I hate him.”
“He is all of those things and more.” His lips twitched at her use of language and while it made his palm twitch, he would let her have that without chastising her.
“So you’re going to stop him? You’re going to save those girls?” She looked up at him, hope filling her eyes.
“Yes, Daphne. We are going to stop him.”
“Good. I hope he rots in hell.” Her scowl was absolutely adorable, and he couldn’t help but chuckle as he kissed the top of her head. She melted into him, and he was never letting her go.
“Is there anything else you can tell us about him? Why he is here and not out west?”
“He wanted to be in the mafia out there. He used that to keep me silent. He told me that if I ever stepped a foot out of line, he would send his boss after me to kill me. I knew how evil he was, so I just believed it. He kept me isolated from Damian for a long time, but allowed me enough contact that he didn’t get suspicious.
As far as why he’s here…I don’t know, honestly.
I can only assume that he is trying to prove that he has what it takes by starting this thing over here. ”
“Did he ever give you a name of any of his contacts? Or did you ever overhear a name?”
“No, I’m sorry. I thought it was best to not ask questions. Questions got me beat. And I know the difference between a spanking and a beating. I don’t like to be beat.”
“I’m glad you know the difference, and I am so proud of you for getting away from him.”
“You are? You’re proud of me?” She looked up at him with those big brown eyes; he could get lost in the depths of those doe eyes.
“I am very proud of you. You left a very scary situation and got as far away as you could.”
“But he still found me.”
“Yes, he did. But I think you were right. I think your phone has a tracer on it. We will take care of that and he won’t be able to track you anymore.”
“He said he could listen in on my conversations through an app on my phone. That he could remote access my camera to see me and see what I was doing.”
“I think he lied to you. But I will check your phone over and see what he did to it. Even if he finds out that we have your phone and know what’s going on, he won’t be able to get to you or Kiera. You are both safe here.”
She sighed and laid her head on his shoulder. “Ok, Eamon.”
“Now, I want to show you girls a very special room we have in my house. If anything ever happens and we tell you to get to the safe room, this is where you will go.”
He got up and led them both to the safe room at the back of his conference room.
It was small but had everything you would need to stay in there for an extended period.
Bottled water, shelf-stable food, a microwave, a hotplate, a bathroom, and some comfortable seating and blow-up air mattresses. It was kind of like a studio apartment.
“Wow,” both girls said at the same time, making them giggle hysterically, breaking some of the tension.
“This is the safe room. It can withstand bullets, a hurricane, a tornado, a nuclear bomb, pretty much anything. If you are in here, you are safe. Once you are in here, you push this button and everything locks down. It can only be opened from the inside at that point.”
“What if you need to get in?” Daphne asked quietly.
“You can open it from the inside. There are cameras here, so you can see if it is someone you know. Only then should you open it.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“There is food and water in here and a bathroom. You will be safe and comfortable in here until we can get to you.”
“I hope we never need it,” Kiera whispered.
“I hope you never need it, either. But it is here if you do.”
“So what happens now?” Daphne asked as they walked back into the conference room.
“Well, I don’t really know. I will have to talk to all my men and come up with a game plan. But between now and then, you and Kiera will color and paint. Maybe watch some movies, eat popcorn, and make some cupcakes. Whatever you want to do. And if it’s not here, we will make sure you can have it.”
“For how long?”
“For however long is necessary.”
“Am I safe in my room?”
“You are. You are actually in the safest room in the house. It is on the high side of the house and hardest to get into. I am adding some extra security measures to the bottom of the house and all the doors and windows. No one will be able to leave or get in without me knowing.” He was trying to soothe her as best he could, but felt like he was failing. She looked so Little and scared.
“C-can I call Damian?”
“Of course. Let’s do that right now. Kiera, can you go find your Daddy, please?” He wanted to give his girl some privacy. She didn’t know he was his, but she would eventually.
He dialed his number and put it on speakerphone.
“Hey, Eamon.” At the sound of Damian’s voice, Daphne burst into tears, great big heaving sobs.
“D-Damian. H-he found me. Callum found me. I’m sorry I lied to you and didn’t tell you how awful he was, but I was scared and…and…and I’m just so sorry,” she wailed into the phone.
“Hey, Daphne. Take a breath for me. Please, just take a breath. You’re ok and I am not mad at you. Eamon, can we video?”
Quickly changing the call to video, he handed the phone back to Daphne.
“Listen to me very carefully, Daphne. I am not mad at you. Not even a little bit. I am beyond furious that Callum found you, but you, my sweet little sister, I could never be mad at.”
“P-promise?” she hiccuped.
“I promise. I should have asked more questions and paid more attention to the signs. I’m sorry I didn’t catch it earlier."
“It’s not your fault, Damian. It’s his. He was a master m-manipulator. And I didn’t see the signs until it was too late. I’m sorry.” Tears streamed down her face as she and Damian talked about the situation. He made himself scarce, so she had plenty of space to talk to her brother.
“Eamon.” The soft voice broke him out of his trance. “Damian wants to talk to you.”
“Hey, Damian.” He was weary as he tried to think of how to keep his girl safe.
She only hoped she was ready to turn everything over to him.
He was proud of her for not running and trying to do this on her own, she just needed to trust him now and he would do whatever he needed to make sure that happened.
“So I told her you are in charge, and she agreed. You now have her full consent to do whatever you deem necessary to keep her safe. Isn’t that right, Daphne?”
“It is. I want to be safe, so I will listen to you and your men. I really don’t want to die, so I promise I’ll do what I’m told.”
“And you will accept any discipline from me?” Eamon wanted to make sure he knew and understood.
“Yes, Sir. I will.” She sounded so withdrawn that it broke his heart.
“Ok, why don’t you find Kiera and Liam so I can talk to Damian and figure out a plan?”
“Is it safe?” Her big brown eyes glistened with unshed tears as he gave her the biggest hug, not caring that Damian could see them.
“Yes, Daphne. I promise you are safe.”
“Ok.” Turning to look at Damian she added, “Will you keep in touch with Eamon and maybe call me every couple of days?”
“Of course I will. I will be in constant contact. I’m assuming you don’t have your phone anymore?”
“No. I think there was a tracker on it. They have it and they are seeing if anything else I brought here has a tracker on it. They have some sort of fancy gadget that tells them.”
“Good. That’s good.” Damian was scared. They were all scared, and it was up to him to put everyone at ease.
“So far, the phone is the only thing with any sort of tracking software. We scanned her room and found nothing. We are taking every precaution we can.”
Daphne said her goodbyes and left to find Liam and Kiera. Eamon wished he could be there with her but knew he needed to stay here and work. Liam would protect her. She would be safe. He was repeating the same mantra in his head repeatedly when the clearing of a throat broke him out of his trance.
“You want my sister.” It wasn’t a question, and it wasn’t said with anything other than the ego of someone who thought he knew it all.
“Yes.”
“Good.”
“Really?”
“Yes. She needs someone like you after what she went through. I trust you with her. Don’t make me regret it.”
“You know I would never harm a woman, much less a Little girl, Damian. She is one hundred percent safe with me.”
“I know, and that’s why I am saying to make her yours. She needs the accountability and boundaries that only her Daddy can provide.”
“You can’t kill me if she complains to you about a sore bottom, though.” He eyed him knowingly, and they both laughed.
“I won’t. She will earn every swat she gets and then some.”
“Good. Now let’s talk about a plan to get this bastard. I need some fresh eyes on the situation, and talking it through with you included would be good. Let me get my guys back in here and we can get started.”
“Sounds good. Can we chat in about thirty minutes? I need to fill Ferris in and make sure he takes care of Emma this afternoon. He’ll need to pick her up from the Ranch since she spent the day there.”
“I would love to bring Daphne out there. Someday, I will.”
“It’s a plan. I’ll talk to you soon.” Hanging up the phone, he sent a message to his top three men and Theo. Theo would join in by video conference, same as Damian.
Time to get this fucker.